By Hank Russell
A federal judge has allowed a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Letitia James to move forward against Live Nation after the entertainment company failed to have the suit dismissed.
As previously reported in Long Island Life & Politics, James, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and 39 attorneys general sued Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. and its subsidiary Ticketmaster in 2024. The suit accused the company of monopolizing the live events industry and harming consumers, artists, venues, and competitors. The lawsuit also accuses Live Nation of controlling all aspects of live events and abusing that power of having dominance over the market.
LILP also reported that, in August 2024, James filed an amended complaint against Live Nation and Ticketmaster to seek additional relief for American consumers who she said were harmed by the companies’ high fees and practices. In addition, she is seeking disgorgement of “ill-gotten gains” — according to James — and civil penalties.
Live Nation sought to have the lawsuit dismissed, but, on February 18, the court ruled in favor of James and the other attorneys general. However, according to Deadline, U..S District Judge Arun Subramanian dismissed claims that Live Nation held a monopoly on concert promotions and bookings and the ticket market.
“Live Nation has used its monopoly to rig the live events industry to its benefit, driving up costs with higher ticket prices and outrageous fees,” James said. “We brought this lawsuit to deliver justice to fans, artists, and venues across the country, and now a court has ruled that our lawsuit will go to trial. Regardless of the path that the Department of Justice takes, my office will continue this case and we will see Live Nation in court.”
LILP reached out to Live Nation for comment.
“We are grateful that the district court dismissed all claims in the concert promotions and concert booking markets,” said Dan Wall, Live Nation Entertainment’s executive vice president of corporate and regulatory affairs. “With those claims gone, we see no possible basis for breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster. We look forward to addressing the remaining claims at trial. The deficiencies we identified in the Government’s monopoly power and conduct claims have not gone away, and we continue to believe that we will prevail in the end.”